BCW Verification Letters - old Scottish Hydro debt

[achillesgk]

Dear kind people

I require assistance in a matter related to Buchanan Clarke and wells.

 

Earlier this year they contacted me via a verification mail pertaining to a property I had lived in Scotland.

 

I was naive enough to contact them back and then what followed was two weeks of constant harassment

- chasing me up on a Scottish Hydro electric bill which they claimed I had yet to pay.

 

(The harassment was so bad that I had to go to the GP for anti-depression medication

and I was unable to function at my job properly

– as they kept calling in the middle of meeting with clients and almost every other morning at 9 am)

 

The bill in question was dated to after I had moved out of the property

– something that my landlord was ready to verify. B

ut BCW just kept calling me and stating that the debt is in my name and that I have to pay up or face legal action.

 

I called up SCH who were unhelpful at first

- eventually through persistence and a 2 hour marathon phone call session with SCH customer care

involving a conference call with my landlord they finally agreed to clear my name and call off BCW.

 

 

Now yesterday I received another verification mail from them that goes like this :

 

"We are trying to contact Miss XXX YYY with regards to a private matter

We have confirmed your address through a credit link obtained via a credit reference agency

as being the same person who lived at the original address above. (

this address is another address within the same city in Scotland)

 

Please contact us on 0844 BLAH quoting the above reference number

and one of our operators will be available to take any relevant details to resolve the matter.

 

If you believe that you are not our customer,

please contact us as soon as possible to enable us to amend our records

and remove your address from our system file."

 

Now I am a male, but they have printed my name with a miss in front of it.

 

Also I have never lived at the address they have specified above . Also they have not specified what the matter is.

 

Now from my previous experience I am reluctant to contact them,

hence I goggled them and arrived at this website.

Am I right in ignoring this mail and not contacting them back?

 

I found the below thread to be helpful, as it outlines a situation similar to mine.

 

_Apparently I am not allowed to post the thread here as my post count is below 10_

I shall try and post it in a comment below

 

1- Shall I follow the same advice as what brigadier provided in the thread.

 

2 - Secondly how do I report a data protection breach as stated by renegadeimp

( Am I right in pursuing that line of action)

 

Your advice and input in this matter will be welcome.

 

Also may I ask – am I covered under the same laws as UK citizens (I am just a resident here)

[Bazooka Boo]

Hello and welcome to CAG

 

BCW you can defo ignore, get straight back onto SCH but this time IN WRITING, and use their complaints procedure;

 

http://www.hydro.co.uk/HelpAndAdvice/ComplaintsProcedure/

 

Unfortunately what was said on the phone will have been ignored, unless you recorded it?

So keep everything in writing, and if you can remember any names, times, dates etc of who you spoke to in order to get this rectified first, then put their names etc in with your formal complaint.

 

Inform SH that they are entirely liable for any and all necessary legal action you may bring against BCW in the future if they do not call off their tame lap dogs.

[achillesgk]

Hi Bazooka Boo,

 

Thank you for the warm welcome.

 

Thank you for the advice too.

 

But I am not sure if this second letter which they sent to me yesterday is in anyway related to SCH or not.

 

It just says " we have a private matter to discuss" cause "

 

we believe you may have been the person residing at the above address" (which I was definitely not )

 

So should I contact them back or just keep ignoring them till they send me more information on this "private matter" ?

 

Thanks in advance.

[Bazooka Boo]

NO! Leave them be, DON'T do their dirty work for them.

 

IGNORE them, just file the puerile missives away and keep a diary of events, wait for them to send you another missive saying exactly what it is they are contacting you about.

 

In the meantime, send a 'copy' of that silly letter to the OFT and TS (trading standards) As it is in clear breach of the OFT's debt collection guidelines, they need to identify who they are and exactly what it is they are contacting you about, not some random statement that they 'think' you might be the person they are looking for.

[dx100uk]

ignore them!!

 

just remember they don't OWN THE DEBT.

 

so have no legal powers whatsoever.

 

if it IS the hydro bill.

 

then only Hydro can do anything to you.

 

and if they've NOT sent a bill in the last 12mts

directly to you.

they're out of luck under their own billing guidelines

 

but as you say, that's sorted anyway.

 

dca's they get ahold of old util bills debts

think they are onto a winner

as people THINK it must be paid...

 

WRONG!!

 

pers i'd be checking your CRA file

in case its been trashed.

 

dx

[achillesgk]

Hi thanks for the reply, it is helpful. Two questions though:

 

1- Can you explain the part about:

 

"and if they've NOT sent a bill in the last 12mts directly to you. they're out of luck under their own billing guidelines"

 

In case if this is the old issue again I would like to stay informed.

 

2 - How can I check my CRA file and verify if it has been trashed or not.

 

Thanks in advance again.

[achillesgk]

Hi Bazooka Boo

 

Thank you for the prompt reply.

 

I will do as you instruct.

 

Is there a format for drafting the letter to OFT and TS. Is there a link on their website or in this website itself.

 

Thanks again.

[Bazooka Boo]

Code of practice for billing http://www.energy-uk.org.uk/customers/energy-industry-codes/code-of-practice-for-accurate-bills.html

[dx100uk]

cra info is below

 

dx

[dx100uk]

Credit Reference Agencies:Experian Equifax CallCredit noddle

fed up with DCA's calling get a TRUECALL BOX!! - HERE

 

Sort Your Debts Now - -

here

 

Start Your Own Thread - HERE

 

 

1. Single Premium PPI Q&A

Read Here

2. Reclaim mis-sold PPI Read Here

3. Reclaim Loan, Credit Card, mortgage & CAtalogue Charges Read Here

my views are my own...seek legal advice if ness

NEVER EVER - act on a private message asking you to visit another website, make contact 'off list' or by telephone

- alert the siteteam IMMEDIATELY by hitting the black warning triangle on any message - Particularly if this results in a request to pay a fee to help you.

 

 

Please consider making a small donation to help keep this site running

Click here to donate through PayPal (opens in a new window)

 

 

DX

RIP Martin3030

[kinneticenergy]

I dealt with bcw lowlifes by playing them at game by playing hardball with dont give them any chance thinking your weak i used leagal letters to bully them into submission

[kinneticenergy]

I sent this to BCW lastnight think it has put frighteners on them no response yet

*

NOTICE TO PRODUCE

*

TAKE NOTICE that you are hereby required within 14 DAYS OF THIS NOTICE to produce all, letters, copies of documents in your custody, possession or power, containing any entry, relating to the matters in question the debt held in the defendants name and in particular all of the Plaintiff’s documents relating in any way to the Particulars of this matter.

*

AND FURTHER TAKE NOTICE that should you fail or neglect to produce the above documents, or any of them further legal action will be taken against the plaintiffs

*

DATED this *24 day of**October 2013

 

*To:**The Plaintiff*******

*

Buchannan, Clarke & wells

BCW House,

24 George Square,k

Glasgow G2 1EG

[Bazooka Boo]

I sent this to BCW lastnight think it has put frighteners on them no response yet

 

I think your on the wrong forum as well as the wrong thread?

[kinneticenergy]

I dealt with bcw lowlifes by playing them at game by playing hardball with dont give them any chance thinking your weak i used leagal letters to bully them into submission

 

I think your on the wrong forum as well as the wrong thread?

 

Its example how deal with bcw

[achillesgk]

Hi Guys,

 

Thank you all for the great replies. I thought I should update you now that I have received my second letter from them.

 

I got this letter stating you lived at this address and you used up so much electricity from Scottish Hydro electric.

 

As I said the address is not familiar and my name is spelt with a miss.

 

since they provided a Scottish Hydro account number I decided to ring up Scottish Hydro and clarify the matter.

 

Initially they refused to speak with me saying this debt has been passed to BCW and they can no longer help me

- they also refused to give out details on the account the address or how my name came to be there.

 

Through persistence I managed to reach their accounts department

where they disclosed the deals regarding the account and apparently:

 

1- They had the address wrong

 

(The address they billed me on and the address I have been staying at were different

- they pushed it off as postcode changes.

I received the bill through my letting agents and hence paid through them along with the rent )

 

2-they had my name wrong

 

I had to correct them on both accounts - and now they have my proper details on file.

They also disclosed that the bill amount was the actual amount I had left to pay

- because all the bills I paid before I left the place were only estimates. ( it was news to me)

 

Now they divulged that the bill amount was 430 something

but since it's been passed to BCW there is a 15 percent admin fee

and hence the total comes to 500 plus.

 

I protested the admin fee and was adamant that I pay them directly

and not BCW because I was their customer.

They relented on paying them directly but not the admin fee.

 

Now from the above you can see that this whole situation is partially my fault

for leaving everything up to and trusting the letting agents.

 

But is there any grounds on which I can justifiably ask them to waive the admin fee.

 

 

( To clarify on the address issue

- I lived in a place for which the address was 16 F yyyy Lane :

but apparently they reffered to it as 2 L No. 16 yyyy Lane

- I was not aware the same place can be referred to by two different ways

- but the postcode was right

- that's how I verified this was mine )

 

(2nd clarification - I did leave a forwarding address with my letting agents when I left the property ,

which they dutifully forwarded to Scottish Hydro

- but I did not receive any letter from them in the months following my move regarding any of this.

 

But according to their database they send 7 letters.

When I point out that I did not receive any

- they asked to tke up the matter with the post-office)

 

Once again thanks in advance for you replies.

And apologies for the rambling nature of the post.

Edited October 28, 2013 by achillesgk

[dx100uk]

how long ago was this debt run up?

 

dx

[achillesgk]

I resided at the property from mid Aug 2011 till mid feb 2012 And they billed me while I was there which was always paid on time. (but according to them it was just estimates - which I was unaware of )

[dx100uk]

I cant see the bill [or lack of one?]

being right

 

6mts there - they want £500 + what you've already paid?

 

somethings not right.

 

dx

[achillesgk]

They asked me if I want to escalate this to a complaint - but apparently it comes with strings attached - they were very vauge about it and said we'll send you a mail regarding this.

 

I said I'd get back to them on this.

 

I did not want to say yes immediately because twice during the conversation they offered to connect me to BCW to settle the debt, ( as this was of their hands now ) and I don't know if escalating this to a complaint just opens up the doorway for BCW to harass me further.

 

And you are right dx, something is not right about the billing - How can I ask them to send me more details regarding this? Everytime I request something this conversation goes something like this:

 

"Well the issue is now being handled by BCW so you have to speak to them regarding details"

 

It was quiet frustrating to speak to them.

[dx100uk]

you could send them an sar

 

do you know what you paid over the time you were there please

/

dx

[Bazooka Boo]

Make your demands in writing, all this talking over the phone (unless recorded) is getting you nowhere!

 

And if they think that by making a formal complaint comes with strings attached, they're very much mistaken!

 

Yes you want to make a complaint, and yes you will be exhausting their complaints procedure all the way to the energy ombudsman, so the only strings that are attached to your complaint are the ones in which they will be hanging themselves!